Woman in cancer scam charged with new offense

EAST GOSHEN » The Chester Springs woman who was arrested a year ago and charged with taking advantage of the generosity of people by lying about a cancer diagnosis and asking for financial help is again facing charges that she lied about an unfavorable medical situation — this time her son’s.

Jessica Ann Cornell was charged with a single count of forgery by Westtown- East Goshen ( WEGO) police after her exhusband told them she had tried to fake a bed bug bite diagnosis

for their son to use against him in custody proceedings in Common Pleas Court.

An investigation determined that a letter purported to have been written by the child’s pediatrician had, in fact, been created by someone else, who had signed the doctor’s name without his knowledge.

Cornell, 32, who had been known as Jessica Ann Smith, was charged on Oct. 21, by WEGO Detective Jason Diamond. On Tuesday, she waived her preliminary hearings before Magisterial District Judge Thomas Tartaglio of East Goshen, who ordered her case transferred to Common Pleas Court.

Cornell entered a guilty plea to theft charges on Oct. 26, five days after her arrest on the new charges, before Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Sommer. She is awaiting sentencing sometime later this year.

According to Diamond’s affidavit, WEGO police were contacted by Cornell’s ex- husband, Robert Smith, who lives in East Goshen, in September. Smith told police that he had received a call from Cornell about their son, whom she said had been taken to his doctor at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia to check him for bed bug bites.

Smtih said that Cornell sent him a photograph of a bed bug that she said she found on their son, and said she had shown it to the doctor as well. She also sent a letter to Smith that appeared to have been written by the pediatrician, Dr. Paul Wontroski, stating his findings about the apparent bites.

Smith immediately reached out to a pest control company about a possible infestation in his home. But he told police that the company was unable to locate any visible evidence of bed bugs there. He also said that Cornell had told him she would be seeking reimbursement for having to have her home fumigated, and that she would be attempting to gain full custody of their son because of the problem. She also indicated she had advised the Chester County Department of Children Youth and Family ( CYF) about her son’s condition.

But Smith told Officer Ryan Herman that he became suspicious of Cornell’s account, and was able to find an exact replica of the bed bug photo she provided him with on a Google image search. When he spoke with Wontroski about the matter, the doctor told him he had not written the letter about the possible infestation.

Smith speculated that Cornell was retaliating against him because of previous custody disputes.

When Diamond checked with representatives at CHOP in King of Prussi, they told him that the letter that Cornell had sent to Smith with Wontroski’s signature had not been written by him or anyone affiliated with the hospital. That representative provided the detective with a letter confirming that Cornell’ s letter was fraudulent, according to the complaint.

In November 2019, Cornell was arrested by Uwchlan police and charged with theft by deception- false impression. Authorities said the charges were filed after she pretended to have cancer, impersonated a doctor and nurse in a scheme to steal thousands of dollars from donors on GoFundMe and Facebook. Through her pages, Smith claimed she was facing her medical bills, travel costs and other payments related to child care and missed work during cancer treatment.

Cornell managed to raise more than $ 10,000 through her fundraisers which she deposited to her TD Bank accounts, investigators said.

That was until her acquaintance and her husband had reported her false claims to the Uwchlan police during the summer. Smith’s husband provided documents that she was covered under his insurance and he did not have any insurance records, statements or documents that indicated his wife was being treated for any form of cancer.

Police reviewed other documents and determined that Smith never received chemotherapy treatment.